“Managing the Mac product line must be one of the most challenging problems at Apple. That may not be obvious given the product’s success,” Horace Dediu writes for Asymco. “With an estimated $5.5 billion in operating margin Apple is the most profitable PC vendor, capturing over 60% of the available PC hardware profits.”

“The big change in computing has not been a growing Mac vs. declining PC. It has been a huge surge in mobile device use vs. a decline in PC use overall. This data is visible in many ways. Browsing data shows mobile overtook PC use this year,” Dediu writes. “All the data is consistent: mobile use has swept PC use aside.”

“I bring this contrast up because I believe it is what focuses the minds at Apple. For them it’s pretty clear where the puck is going,” Dediu writes. “And so what do you with the Mac? To answer this we have to ask what exactly is the purpose of the Mac in the age of the Mobile device?”

“It cannot take on the role of being the future. That belongs to the touch screen devices. It will not morph into a touch device any more than a teen’s parent will become cool by putting on skinny jeans,” Dediu writes. “What it will do is become better at what it is hired to do.”

Tons more with the usual pretty and informative graphs – highly recommended – in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: The Touch Bar – which will come to all Macs eventually – is a paradigm shift in personal computing UI. It is truly groundbreaking. We can’t wait for the virtual, morphing, taptic engine-equipped keyboards!

Agreed. Just because browsing statistics show mobile has taken over from desktop does not mean people aren’t using laptops and desktops!
People who use computers for real work are just getting stuff done and are too busy to be browsing all day. Don’t be fooled into thinking laptops and desktops are not important!

Maybe some people like squinting at a phone/phablet to get things done, but I am not of that tribe.

Some of us want a workstation with a powerful CPU and GPU that can handle everything internally on one power supply- not a cylinder with a collection of expensive cables and wall warts extending to external boxes all over the damn place.

I want to see the founding of the Steve Jobs Truck Company. It can be a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple and all they get to build are Macintosh computers and Jony Ive gets locked out because we do not give a flying fuck how thin the edge of our display is if the computer sucks because of it.

Yes and I love the empathy of some here who if they have their needs met think we who don’t should just STFU. It’s such classic human selfishness & obliviousness to think if your okay then screw everyone else.

I like to think someone at Apple actually might tune into this site (and others like it) and see the disgruntlement and how all is not yet right in Apple Mac paradise. Then DO something about it. I hope Schiller got an eye opener at the latest MBP as they finished but the audience still had their hands mentally extended with the questions “And… what else???”

You’re talking about me. I had the temerity to try to temper the vitriol, and I have learnt my lesson. I will say no more upon the matter. Let the rants continue, and either justice will be done, or an exodus will occur.

As a matter of fact I wasn’t but you’re not alone in that attitude, which was surprising coming from you. We are not asking for the stars only what Apple is easily capable of satisfying. Sometimes I think they overthink this stuff for pro’s. We are not “consumers” when we put the pro hat on. It’s a whole different requirement that Apple should understand.

WTF am I missing here? We still need trucks. Trucks were not replaced by cars as SJ’s analogy was suppose to somehow signify. We still need devices that do the heavy lifting. Mobile devices are great for consuming, doing some editing, but not great for development work. Multiple 27″ screens attached to a desktop box is what is required. I don’t want some pissy ass 15″ screen in my way as I am working on development projects. I want a desktop computer and I want it with the latest and fastest technology. What is so hard about that??

so, we know where the puck is going…. but it has a long way to go to get there.

on top of which, right when mr. apple is actually and genuinely making headway in the enterprise zone, they are hobbling the power and adaptability of their mac line – especially the heavy duty gmc, dodge, and ford truck vehicles – not to mention the kenworths and peterbuilts either.

so while they seem to be lightening up on the macintosh line of desktops there seems to be an ongoing dip in sales of ipads – their semi presumed semi replacement.

i dunno but somebody in the executive suites sure seems to be channeling their inner ralph kramden.

Mobile use has overtaken PC (laptop/desktop) use. That’s all well and good, but mobile developers create apps on PCs (laptop/desktop). If the developers are disappointed with the tools Apple provides them, I fear they may stop caring and give up.

“Lots of people say that because Mac Pro sales might be ‘low’ Apple should let it die off i.e do the ‘Bean counter’ thing.

Here’s my 2 cents:

— Over the years Apple pushed Macs hard at pros (actually it was the graphics pros that kept Apple alive during the dark ages due to it’s superior graphics capability . ) , so there are many pros who HAVE INVESTED A LOT in hardware, software (3D, graphics, video etc software ). These people LISTENED TO APPLE’S SPIEL THAT APPLE WAS COMMITTED TO PROS so now to abandon them leaves a big sour taste.

tim Cook always talks about doing the ‘honourable thing’ , about helping ‘minorities’, is this honourable? isn’t minorities who are CUSTOMERS just as important as outsiders?

2) unlike the iPod which can in many ways be replaced by iPhones (even used iPhones) there is no real substitute for cutting edge Mac Pros, see my post above about GPU speeds.

3) its the ECO SYSTEM. If you can’t get machines for your top end you might then think of changing your laptops etc as well as you want to sync. For a healthy eco system you need pro machines
(Look at my post above on Ive’s studio : apparently even Apple is using old Cheese Graters. )

4) Content Creators, high end users are very influential in spite of their smaller numbers. Professionally they are influential , writing blogs, talking at conferences etc. Even on a neighbourhood or family member it’s the power user that everyone comes to for buying advice.

5) The Mac Pro is MADE IN USA. For various political reasons (look at the presidential candidates criticizing for Apple not manufacturing in USA and the Ban Apple China goods crusade ) can Apple afford to let it die? In a TV interview a few months ago Tim Cook was asked about USA manufacturing, he DID NOT mention the MP perhaps realizing how dated it was . Too bad. The PR alone with USA Mac Pro is worth tens of millions $.

6) Tech usually trickles down from High end to rest of product line. That’s why besides the PUBLICITY gain for having the BEST, car manufacturers often have a high end Sports or Racing line.

7) I don’t think TOWER MP is going to lose money . R&D costs should be minimal.
Macs in General make money . Last three quarters (that I’ve followed) Macs made more money than iPads and more than TWICE the other products category which among many things includes the Apple Watch in spite of NO ADVERTISING.
Look at aapl stock being less than the S&P average, the stock being pummelled by investors saying that Apple is ‘dangerous’ as it’s a ONE PRODUCT iPhone company, healthy Mac line is crucial.”

——
Please note also that many people quote Jobs “milk Macs and go to the next thing” forget it’s from 1996 when he was out of power and Macs were being driven into the ground by incompetents at Apple.

AFTER THAT when he returned to Apple:
he went gangbusters on iMac
did fantastically difficult transitions to OSX and Intel
demoed Mac every chance he got , sometimes in shootouts when he trashed Wintel boxes
Ran HUGE number of Ads, one NEW ad PER MONTH (Mac Pc guys: 66 different ads over 4 years) which dwindled when Cook became CEO.
(PLEASE NOTE JOBS DID THAT EVEN THOUGH IPOD WAS MAKING HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY DURING THOSE YEARS).

if Horace and the Mac haters at Apple are right and touch screens are ready and adequate WHY IS JONY IVES STUDIO FILLED WITH MACS INCLUDING CHEESE GRATERS (pix from end 2015, Cheesers under the tables), why aren’t his designers working all on iPads?

I have two iPads, three iPhones, two MacBooks ( together with a number of older Apple laptops which are still in working order and used to run ‘retired’ applications ), and also an iMac.
Each of those devices performs a valuable role and in many cases, there is a substantial overlap when it comes to which device I use for a particular purpose, but it’s the iMac that I would most miss and yet it’s the one device that I am most reluctant to upgrade.

The main reason why I wish to upgrade my iMacs is to get compelling new hardware features, but the simple truth is that there have been relatively few such introductions in recent years.

The main reason why I am reluctant to update my iMacs is that any time that I update the operating system, or replace the machine, there’s a fair chance that significant software which I rely on will stop working.

With Macs being built to a high standard and tending to be very long lasting, it’s entirely practical to keep them running for many years, rather than risk the frustration that can accompany an upgrade. When the hardware is only incrementally upgraded, the appeal of enjoying a peaceful life by avoiding disruption becomes irresistible.

OS updates can be particularly difficult because it’s very hard to get reliable information in advance about whether my specific builds of key applications will run on the new OS. So I end up doing the OS upgrade and then discovering that something vital stops working and then find myself restoring the OS back to the previous version so that I can keep working while I find a way around the problem.

I can understand that something like a scanner might need a special driver which interacts intimately with the operating system and that an OS change might disrupt it, but I find it really galling when an application like Fliemaker pro ( made by a division of Apple ) stops working when the OS is upgraded and the only option available is to buy the application all over again at the full price because the version I currently use has just dropped out of the upgrade pricing scheme, which effectively adds over $300 to the cost of upgrading and does not offer me any additional features that I actually want.

I don’t buy Apple hardware for the fun of it, I buy Apple stuff to perform useful roles in my business and personal life. The true cost of upgrading goes well beyond the cost of the hardware, but it’s almost impossible to know in advance what those costs are going to be, either in finical terms or time wasted.

The linked article still misses the larger point. Online usage is not a static pie. It’s growing. Mobile is taking a larger piece of the GROWING pie. Further, mobile smart phones have brought MILLIONS of new users to the internet who otherwise would not have bothered.

All of this does not mean that the Mac/PC market is shrinking.

Mac (and the PC) was and is and will remain a huge part of the work/recreation life for most people. Even teenagers today, once they get in to work and family life, will buy a Mac/PC for more serious work/play. You cannot efficiently write a paper, edit a movie or photos, or do serious design work, on mobile. It is far more convenient and efficient on a Mac, especially an iMac.

The Mac is vital. It is, as Steve Jobs termed it, a “truck.” Maybe an SUV. And as everyone who has a home knows, having a truck or SUV is almost a necessity today.